A Toolkit for Evaluating Public R&D Investment
Models, Methods, and Findings from ATP's First Decade

Note from Project Manager

The seed for the idea of constructing a toolkit of evaluation tools for program managers came from attending a workshop I co-organized on “Financing and Managing Technology Development, in Veracruz, Mexico in April 2001. This workshop was held during Mexico’s 13th International Congress for Science and Technology and brought together program managers, officials, and consultants from Norway, the European Union, Canada, the United States, and Mexico to share their experiences. Presenters addressed the financing methods and time-frames for public support of technology development; program management, project selection, and oversight; and benchmarking and evaluation of impact.

Rosalie Ruegg, the co-author of this report, gave a presentation at this workshop on evaluation fundamentals that led to a lively exchange over the most effective evaluation tools and methodologies to achieve policy goals. It was during the plane ride home that the idea for a toolkit for evaluating public R&D investment took root.

The timing of the project was perfect because it came on the heels of a National Research Council report ( The Advanced Technology Program: Assessing Outcomes , 2001) that found that ATP “set a high standard for assessment involving both internal and independent external review.” Over the past thirteen years beginning in 1990, the Advanced Technology Program through its Economic Assessment Office has been sponsoring rigorous and groundbreaking scholarship that has advanced the understanding of the process of technology-based innovation.

It is with the hope of sharing what we have learned and to educate those new to program evaluation that we bring to you this toolkit. The authors and I welcome your comments and suggestions.

Sincerely,

| s |

Connie K.N. Chang
Supervisory Economist
Leader, Policy Research & Analysis Group
ATP Economic Assessment Office
connie.chang@nist.gov

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Date created: July 13, 2004
Last updated: August 2, 2005

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